The menu for tomorrow afternoon comes from Paula Deen. I wish I had her voice! Ha! So these dishes are simple but they caught my eye for the use of fresh ingredients and crisp summer flavors. Hopefully Em won’t mind firing up the grill on Sunday.

I’m off to the store for this:

Lime Chicken and Shrimp Kabobs

Ingredients:

2/3cupvegetable oil

3 limes, juiced

2tablespoonvinegar

1tablespoonsugar

1/4teaspooncrushed red pepper

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 (16-ounce) can pineapple rings, drained, cut into 1-inch pieces

6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2lblarge fresh shrimp, peeled and de-veined

Special Equipment: skewers

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk oil, limejuice, vinegar, sugar, and crushed red pepper.

In a shallow dish or re-sealable plastic bag, combine bell pepper, onion, pineapple, chicken, and shrimp. Pour lime mixture over chicken mixture; cover dish or seal bag, and place in the refrigerator to for 4 to 6 hours to marinate.

Heat grill to 350 to 400 degrees F.

Using tongs, remove chicken, vegetable pieces, pineapple and shrimp from marinade, discarding the marinade. Onto the skewers, thread 1 piece of chicken, 1 piece of pepper, 1 piece of onion, and 1 piece of pineapple, alternating to fill the skewer. Do the same thing with the shrimp alternating shrimp, pepper, onion, and pineapple to fill the skewer.

Place chicken kabob on the grill, cover with grill lid, and cook for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked throughout, with no pink center, turning occasionally.

Place shrimp kabobs on the grill, cover with grill lid over and cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until shrimp turn pink, and are cooked throughout, turning once.

Well today is the 2 year anniversary since Em and I met in San Antonio. To commemorate, I made Puffy Tacos – San Antonio style. These yummy tacos have a cult following back in SA and are nothing more than corn masa tortillas deep fried and filled with your favorites beef, chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and salsa. What makes them unique is the how the masa puffs up during frying. The end result is light and airy and crisp. Yum! Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photographs tonight. We were too busy throwing our faces into the tacos that I forgot. But they look like this:

homesicktexan.blogspot.com

I decided to make today the first blog entry on this site because it kind of shows what I want it to be all about. Real food made by a real person. I’m not saying other foodie bloggers aren’t real… but for this regular Jane sometimes what they create is unattainable. At least not every night of the week. So as a new hobby and to make use of my favorite, hey-it’s-professional-to-me-even-if-I-did buy-it-at-Ross, knife – I’ll be a “Foodie” on Sunday Nights Only. Kinda like the Sunday Night Dinner clubs, except – I’m the only one cooking. I’ll scour the ‘nets for a new recipe that challenges my skills and my tastebuds. I can’t wait to call family and friends on Sunday afternoon and invite them over for food that’s a little different than the usual.